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Try It by Career Calling

Canvas Goods Fabricator

Technicians and Trades WorkersUsually a trade certificate or similar, or several years of experience

What the work is

Fabricates and repairs canvas and related products such as awnings, tents, tarpaulins, horse rugs and caravan annexes.

Would you enjoy the work?

These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.

  • Consults clients to determine specifications for products
  • Measures and cuts canvas to required dimensions
  • Sews or welds canvas using machinery and hand tools
  • Repairs and waterproofs canvas products
  • Attaches fittings to canvas products
  • Inspects finished products for quality and adherence to specifications
  • Provides advice regarding care and maintenance of canvas products
  • Orders and maintains inventories of materials

Try it

A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small tailoring and alterations studio with a sewing room out the back. They are fictional.

The kind of days you could have

Good days

  • A bride sees herself in the finished dress and the whole room goes quiet
  • A pair of boots you resoled come back on the feet of someone who loves them
  • Cutting a pattern so cleanly that every piece lines up on the first try

Hard days

  • A rush job before a wedding, with a customer who keeps changing their mind
  • A flaw in the fabric appears only after you have cut into the last length
  • Hours bent over a machine with sore shoulders and a deadline that will not move

Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.

Work a mission

Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.

Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 399432, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.